The Mark of Athena
by DarkeningFyre
Summary: The Heroes of Olympus must unite to travel to Greece and stop Gaea from taking over the world.
1. Chapter 1: Annabeth

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS FIRST! VVV**

**Yay! My first chapter! So, um. Before you guys read this story… I highly suggest that you read the PROLOGUE of my version of The Son of Neptune first (I'm going to post it into this story to save you guys the trouble). It explains it all for the second+ chapter(s) of this story. Basically, I had a really cool idea and my imagination went nuts at it. If you've already read the prologue, good for you; you're all set. (:**

**So if you like the thought of Percy becoming the main, super AWESOME hero, I highly suggest you read this story! :)**

**Seriously, guys. It's pretty incredible.**

**And yeah, the whole "Annabeth was on a warship. She saw Percy. They hugged, kissed, and had a tour. Then Piper and Reyna got into a crazy fistfight over Jason" thing got REALLY boring to me and it's too TYPICAL… So I spiced it up a bit. :P**

**So here it is! Please review, comment, favorite, etc!**

****I don't own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus (wish I did). All credit for that goes to Rick Riordan.**

**The Mark of Athena**

Chapter I

Annabeth

_Today is the day. _

Annabeth Chase sighed as she sat alone in her bunker of the _Argo_ _II_, a gigantic warship with the head of a metal dragon attached to the mast. The metallic room was lit by the dim sunset light coming from the window. From where she was sitting, Annabeth could see streaks of pink, orange, and golden highlighting the sky, making it look like mashed sherbet ice cream. It was nearing dusk and the sun was almost below the horizon.

She stood from the cushioned bed and walked across the room to her window behind a wooden desk. Standing there alone, a million things raced through her mind at once. They had about twenty minutes until the ship landed at an unfamiliar camp and they would possibly be murdered by Jason's friends.

They could all be killed today, but, surprisingly, Annabeth didn't really care. However nerve-wracking it was, this was the least of her worries.

No. Her main concern was Percy.

_Is he alright? Does he remember me or Camp Half-Blood at all? What __if he doesn't even know my name? What if he's already moved on? What if he found someone else?__ Will he not want to see me anymore? Will I ever get my boyfriend back?_

These questions reverberated through Annabeth's mind, making her feel confused and answerless. As a daughter of the wisdom goddess, this was not acceptable.

_That's one of the problems with being a daughter of Athena_, she thought dryly, _too many thoughts up in here_.

Annabeth frowned at her reflection in the window, wondering if Percy would remember her face. She was kind of glad that Piper had given her that ultra-deluxe makeover a few hours ago. She couldn't imagine what kind of reunion it would be if she hadn't brushed her hair, or gotten dressed for the day, or _showered_.

She pursed her lips as she looked herself over. Her new makeup perfectly emphasized her stormy gray eyes. Her blond, curly hair hung to her waist in delicate ringlets. She wore a sleeveless red shirt with tight black jeans that were ripped at the thigh from extreme monster fighting. The outfit wasn't really her style, but Piper thought she looked hot in it, and on this kind of day she had every reason to need to look her best. Her shoes were black converse with fancy zippers running along the sides. Her sheathed dagger hung at her belt, ready for battle.

_I_ _look like a freaking Death Barbie doll_, she thought. That pretty much summed it all up.

She pulled the knife from its sheath as thoughts from the battle on Mount Olympus ran through her mind. She remembered how difficult it had been just to get _prepared_ for that one fight. She couldn't imagine trying to prepare for this upcoming war with Gaea.

Suddenly, a large, dark shape zoomed past her window, casting a large shadow in the room for a second. Annabeth flinched so hard that her knees slammed the desk and she dropped her dagger. Completely ignoring her weapon, she quickly put her face inches from the window, her eyes searching for the thing that had just nearly smashed into their ship. There was nothing in the sky anywhere besides the drifting clouds.

Had that just been her imagination? But she had been so sure…

A knock sounded from the door, jolting Annabeth out of her reverie. She quickly picked her knife up off the floor and put it back in its sheath.

"Annabeth, can I come in?" said a feminine voice, slightly muffled by the closed door.

"Sure, Piper. Door's open."

The door opened and Piper McLean stepped inside. She was wearing a light blue shirt and a pair of basic jeans. Her choppy brown hair fell slightly past her shoulders. Though simple as she tried to be, Annabeth had to admit she was still gorgeous.

When Piper noticed the look on Annabeth's face, something in the expression made her frown. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth looked away shyly, blushing. "Nothing," she replied as she pushed the mysterious – and possibly mistaken – visitor from her mind. She didn't want to freak anyone out over something that could've been a complete misunderstanding. Also, she didn't feel like complaining about her insignificant problems about Percy to Piper, even though she had the same upcoming dilemma.

Piper didn't push any further. Instead, she walked over to the bed and flopped down onto it. She pulled out her gleaming dagger, Katoptris, and began to polish it with her shirt. Her eyes sparkled and changed from blue to green to brown in the blade's glow. "It's hard to face, isn't it?" she asked nonchalantly.

Annabeth curiously looked over her shoulder at Piper. "What?"

Piper sighed and pursed her lips. "The fact that they might have other girlfriends," she said, "I mean, Jason could be keeping something from me, and Percy might not remember you. They could be dating other people. Isn't that what was bothering you?" Her words explained almost exactly what Annabeth had been thinking.

Annabeth grimaced. "Is it that obvious?"

Piper sat up on the bed and smiled humorlessly as she sheathed her sword. "Yeah, it is, but don't worry, Annabeth. Jason already has _his_ memory back, Percy probably does, too. And if he doesn't… well, he'll be disappointed when he sees what he's missing," she winked at Annabeth, "and when he finds out that you're already his, he'll be ecstatic." Piper stared dreamily out the window.

Annabeth laughed a little. _Wow, she really is like her mother,_ she thought. "Thanks, Piper, but there's a lot more on my mind than just that."

"Like what?"

Annabeth stood up and started to pace around the room as she spoke. "I was thinking, even if both camps worked together with the gods… it still may not be enough to defeat Gaea."

Piper calmly watched Annabeth pace. "You don't think we'll be strong enough?" she asked quitely.

"Well… I don't know, really. Gaea is a _really_ powerful goddess. She has the entire Earth at her command, not to mention the massive armies of monsters who are following her. Gaea isn't even _awake_ yet, and she's already causing some serious trouble. If she ever wakes up…" Annabeth trailed off.

"We'll be doomed," Piper finished.

Before Annabeth could reply, Leo burst through the door. He had a crazy smile on his face and his curly dark hair was a chaotic mess. He looked like he hadn't slept for days and drank about seven double espressos in the past ten minutes.

"Guys, you gotta come see this. The camp looks so _cool_."

Piper laughed. "Shouldn't you be driving the ship, Repair Boy?"

Leo smiled even wider as he winked at her. "Shouldn't _you_ be shutting up now, Beauty Queen?"

Before she could reply, he rushed back down the metal hallway. Annabeth and Piper followed him out to the main deck where they were outside. The sky was cloudy and nearly concealed the sun, which wasn't very ideal weather for steering a gigantic warship. Annabeth could smell the rain, even though it hadn't actually started raining yet. Her eyes automatically searched for that dark shape, but there was still nothing in sight. They walked to a row of stairs at the front of the ship which led to a room behind a metal door; the control room.

In the control room, thousands of controls, buttons, and switches were at a crescent-shaped desk in the center. The rooms' walls were taken up by a huge window surrounding the entire room – excluding the back wall – from floor to ceiling. Even the floor itself was a window, showing the entire world underneath their feet. This was not a good place for someone who was afraid of heights. Annabeth was suddenly relieved that they hadn't taken Thalia along on the trip.

Leo was right, though. Camp Jupiter – as Jason had called it – looked amazing, even from a distance. Tiled Roman buildings rose from the busy center of a spacious valley. Annabeth loved the architecture of the buildings; it was like being in Rome itself. She examined the camp further through the glass. A flowing river circled half of the camp, leading into a lake. Every inch the Argo II got closer to the camp, it became more and more detailed. The only problem was Annabeth's instinctive urge to run away from this place and never return. It gave a slightly disturbing vibe.

Jason Grace was sitting in the captain's chair, which was metal with red cushions and was attached to the floor by a pole. Jason wasn't really touching the controls, just examining them.

Leo laughed as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Hey there, pretty boy, outta my chair," he told Jason.

Jason got up from the chair and gave the spot to Leo. He smiled as he walked over to Piper, who looked up at him sheepishly and took his hand for support.

Seeing Piper and Jason together made Annabeth feel less confident. Jason had found another girl, despite having someone else at camp – _if_ he had someone else at camp. Percy could easily have done the same. Annabeth pushed that thought from her mind. _Stay hopeful,_ Annabeth reminded herself, _he could still remember you_. In fact, he could have never forgotten her.

Jason started pointing out various places in the camp, but Annabeth's heart wasn't really into it. She caught a few names of the buildings and sites, like the Senate House – which seemed to have a giant hole in the roof – in the distance and the forum – the place where they were landing the ship.

Now that they had gotten closer to the city, Annabeth could see a few hundred campers of varying ages crowding around in the forum, gathering about sixty feet from the ship's landing spot. They were all wearing purple T-shirts like Jason's. One girl in a purple toga was pushing though the crowd to the front and the demigods parted for her as soon as they saw her. She was obviously one of the leaders of the camp – or for the definite term: _praetor_. Yes, Annabeth had done her studying.

"Alright, guys, what's the game plan?" Leo asked the group.

After a few seconds, Jason seemed to realize that everyone was looking at him. "What, _I'm_ supposed to have a plan?" he innocently asked.

Next, everyone looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth sighed. "Alright, let's see what we're dealing with. We have to land a deadly warship into a slightly unknown territory," – she gave a pointed look to Jason –"convince the Romans to _not_ kill us, unite the seven Heroes of Olympus, sail to Greece, find the Doors of Death, and "close" them before the all-powerful Mother Nature can defeat us. Sound good to everyone?"

They didn't seem too excited about it.

"She's right, actually," Jason said, "that's basically what we have to do. The problem is succeeding in each step. If we fail, we can't move on."

"But how can we avoid failing?" Piper asked.

Jason pursed his lips, making the scar on his upper lip crinkle. "Well, I guess we can take necessary precautions."

Piper walked to look closer out of the window. "So first things first… How can we convince the Romans not to kill us?" she asked.

Jason's sky blue eyes followed her every move. He spoke carefully; as if everything could go wrong for each word he spoke. "Besides the fact that I was their old _praetor_ and they might welcome me back, we could try looking powerful. Romans respond well to power, but if they think we're enemies…" he trailed off.

Annabeth knew what would happen if that were the case. Jason would be spared and the "enemy Greeks" would die. Maybe they'd even kill Percy, too, depending on his position at camp.

No. Annabeth wouldn't let anyone kill Percy. She would find a way to save him before anything like that could ever happen.

Annabeth and the three demigods went silent for a few minutes. Piper watched Leo as he quietly fiddled with the controls. Jason stared out the window, his eyes as cloudy as the sky. Annabeth had an aching feeling that she needed to be alone, to let her thoughts take over. However, she didn't want to be alone now. She felt like she would fall apart completely if it weren't for her friends.

"Whatever. We'll fix all the bugs out later," Leo said, still enthusiastic, "About five minutes until we land. Why don't you guys head over to the exit while I land this thing?"

Jason nodded and the three of them strolled through the dim corridors down to the entrance room at the hull of the ship. The knot in Annabeth's stomach seemed to get tighter with every step. The thought of Percy kissing another girl made her want to cry, or vomit, or throw something; like maybe one of Hera's "presents".

When they reached the lower deck, Annabeth felt the gigantic ship land softly on the grass with a thud. From behind the giant metal door, she could hear muffled talking and questioning. She felt excited to meet so many new faces, but her excitement was quickly pushed aside by her dread. She buried her face in her hands, willing herself not to scream.

Seconds later, Leo appeared behind them. Still animated, he pressed a few buttons on the wall and, with a _chhh_ sound, the ramp door slowly started to descend.

_This is it,_ Annabeth thought.

When the metal ramp hit the fluttering grass, everything seemed to happen at once. Gasps echoed throughout the camp, some nervous, some excited. From what Annabeth had seen in the control room, the front of the ship was surrounded by campers in purple shirts. Nobody could see inside or outside of the ship just yet; the ramp was in the way and the exit room was concealed by a threatening shadow.

Everyone inside the ship just looked at one another. Annabeth figured, now that the time had come, that none of them knew exactly what to do.

Leo's excitement still remained, however, and he happily bounded down the ramp first, into the potential death camp.

Jason exhaled deeply, let go of Piper's hand, and started for the door. "I'll go next," he said nervously.

When he walked out of the ship, Annabeth noticed that his hands were shaking. It wasn't surprising that he was nervous about this. If all ended badly, he would never get his old life back.

As soon as he became visible to the swarm of people, many shouts sounded from the valley. One voice stood out from the rest, a female voice.

"Jason!"

Annabeth knew that this meant something, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for Piper. She looked over her shoulder to see that Piper had a distant look in her eyes. Annabeth took her hand firmly and together they walked toward the ramp.

When they stepped outside, Annabeth saw that a tall girl with dark hair had her arms around Jason in an embrace. It was the girl in the toga; the one that had been pushing to get to the front of the crowd.

"Reyna," Jason said her name as if he was unsure how to respond, but he looked pleased all the same. Reyna didn't notice his hesitation. She smiled up at him and asked him a question that Annabeth couldn't hear.

"Romans, we come in peace!" Leo yelled, holding up his hand in the alien sign for "peace".

Annabeth forgot the why she had been so worried a few seconds before. These demigod campers looked very… _familiar_ in a way. They seemed almost like the demigods at Camp Half-Blood. It was easy to tell that these people were a family, just like it was at her camp. Still, Annabeth couldn't shake that feeling that she was about to be in serious danger.

While Jason reunited with his friends, Annabeth searched the crowd for Percy. One time. Two times. Ten times. There was no sign of his dark, messy hair anywhere in this crowd. She wanted to scream out for him. _Hey, Seaweed Brain, it's me, Annabeth! You can come on out now!_ But something inside of her told her that it would be no use.

Annabeth started to panic. Was Percy okay? About a week ago, Percy's mom Sally Jackson had contacted Annabeth saying that he was fine and alive. Just yesterday, Percy's Cyclops half-brother Tyson had confirmed that Percy was okay and that he had received the message Leo had sent about the ship.

So where was he now?

Just as she was assuming the worst, a brilliant light flashed in the distance. It was a piercing golden color, blinding everyone for a few seconds. Every camper in the valley turned to the direction of the light. The flash was followed by the sounds of screaming in the distance. A few seconds later, the dark field became eerily silent so that Annabeth could only hear the sound of the wind. She immediately felt an even stronger sense of danger nearby.

Reyna broke the silence. She said exactly what everyone was probably thinking. "What was _that_?"

A skinny man with blonde hair stepped out from the crowd. He had a crazy look in his eyes. Annabeth instantly hated him, even before he spoke. "See, fellow Romans?" – he waved a finger toward Piper, Leo, and Annabeth – "The _graecus_ have set up a trap! They're trying to destroy us all!" His tone made it clear how he felt towards "the _graecus_", which Annabeth knew meant "the Greek" in Latin and was basically an insult. She felt _so_ welcomed.

Piper fixed a fierce glare at him. "_We_ didn't do anything! We don't know what's going on, either." Her voice was surprisingly full of confidence, but the blonde guy wasn't impressed.

"That's a lie! Isn't it a coincidence that this happened just as you showed up here?" the guy replied furiously.

"Shut up, Octavian." Reyna rolled her eyes and looked back at the light, which was now dim, yet still present. Astonishingly, Piper glared at Reyna, too, even though Reyna had just agreed with her. Annabeth figured that she was just irritated because Reyna and Jason were obviously close. Either way, Reyna didn't notice her.

Reyna turned to a burly guy with dark hair and blood-red lips. "Dakota, head over there quickly. Find out what's happening."

Dakota didn't hesitate for a second. He bowed and quickly rushed off in the direction of the light.

Annabeth hopelessly searched the crowd again and again while they waited for Dakota to return. Percy was still nowhere to be found. She fixed her gaze back toward the light, wondering if Percy was over there.

One of the campers that Jason had hugged – a girl who had her brown hair tied into a ponytail – came over to stand beside Reyna. "It's coming from the Senate House," she said urgently.

Reyna scrunched her eyebrows. "We were just there a few minutes ago. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

"I know," the girl said, "I thought the battle was over, but if this is the sign of another one…" she trailed off.

Reyna switched her gaze back to the light. "As long as we have our new _praetor_ and the Amazons with us, we should be able to be triumphant in any battle."

Jason raised an eyebrow at this. "New _praetor_?" he asked warily.

"Indeed. I think one of your, -er, new friends might–"

She was cut off by a high-pitched screech in the distance. It sounded like a mixture between a human scream and the cawing of a bird.

Dakota could be seen running back from the Senate House. Annabeth noticed that he was breathing heavily and his expression was completely different from before; he seemed much more anxious and extremely frightened. He trudged through the near-darkness while Annabeth and the other campers rushed out to meet him.

"What's happening?" Reyna asked him frantically.

"The Senate House…" Dakota panted, speaking between heavy breaths, "Gryphons… lots of them… attacking…. and suddenly… missing campers…."

The entire crowd stared at Dakota in shock. "They took captives?" Reyna asked angrily, "How many? Who did they take?"

Dakota took a second to catch his breath. Even before he spoke, Annabeth knew the truth, and it chilled her to the bone with a sense of dread. _Of course_ this would happen. It was just her luck.

"Three," Dakota could speak more clearly now, "Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and our new _praetor_ –"

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth interrupted, closing her eyes.

Simultaneous gasps rippled through the group of campers. _No_, Annabeth thought desperately, _no, no, no_. This could _not_ be happening. It seemed that no matter where Annabeth went, fate or destiny or an angry goddess was keeping Percy away from her. At this rate, would she _ever_ see Percy again?

_Yes_, Annabeth thought, opening her eyes, _I_ will_ find him. No matter what it takes._

After the shock wore off, everyone seemed to forget about the Greeks in their camp. Most of the members of the camp started rushing toward the Senate House. Annabeth couldn't run at that moment; she was frozen in place from shock. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of brown hair. The next second, Piper appeared next to her, a look of sympathy on her face. Piper took Annabeth's hand just like Annabeth had done for her on the ship. Annabeth took a deep breath and Piper led her along with the other campers. Luckily, the Senate House wasn't that far off and they made it there quickly.

Everything around the Senate House was in complete chaos; some people were screaming or preparing for war. Annabeth even saw a few young girls crying. It was strange to Annabeth; she saw demigods of all kinds of ages. Some were young children, being cradled in the arms of older demigods. Some of the people were elderly. It was hard to believe that these were all demigods.

About forty or fifty gryphons still circled the sky. They were giant eagles with the bodies of a panther. They had glowing red eyes and sharp beaks. One flew past them in a shadowy blur, and Annabeth realized that _this_ was the creature she had seen on the ship. It hadn't been her imagination at all.

Too late for that now.

Unfortunately, none of them were holding Percy or the other two campers, which meant that they had already been taken away from the camp. Annabeth wanted to scream, but she knew she had to stay strong for her teammates.

Reyna stepped up into her position as _praetor_. Her voice echoed across the night sky. "Everyone, stay calm! We must not fear. Fear is only a weakness. Warriors, stand ready against the remaining enemies!"

The demigods who had been preparing for battle charged the gryphons. Reyna grabbed her weapon and hopped onto a brown pegasus, getting ready to attack. A few campers still staring at him in awe, Jason took out his _gladius_ and stood next to Piper. Leo lit his hands on fire, causing the surrounding campers to gasp and back away from him.

A sleek black gryphon landed directly in front of Annabeth, growling and scraping the ground while its red eyes glared at her.

"Alright, you filthy beast," Annabeth yelled to the animal, "_This_ is what happens when you kidnap my boyfriend!" Hearing what she'd said, the unarmed campers just stared at her – in shock or fear, she didn't know.

Out of pure anger and determination to find Percy, Annabeth went into action mode. She unsheathed her dagger just as the beast lunged for her face. She sidestepped and slashed her dagger, slicing the gryphon's neck. It shrieked and fell to the ground just as another swooped toward Annabeth from behind. Annabeth ducked and the creature flew directly over her head. Annabeth saw the opening to attack as she raised her knife to slash the gryphon's underbelly.

After the second one fell, Jason, Piper, and Leo stepped in and the four of them defeated the majority of the gryphons. The ones that didn't turn to dust flew away to the North, showing Annabeth the direction she needed to go to find Percy.

Once the gryphons were gone, Reyna's pegasus landed next to Jason. She studied Annabeth, Piper, and Leo with a newfound interest. After a few seconds, she turned back to the campers. "Members of the Legion, go back to your normal routines. The battle is over for now and we could all use some rest after the past few days. We will have a regular Senate meeting tomorrow at noon."

The demigods obeyed willingly; they seemed all too eager to get some rest. The adults and their tired children started heading back to their homes in the city. The good thing was that there wasn't much wreckage from the fight with the gryphons. But now that Annabeth could see it up close, she realized that the city was already pretty damaged. The Senate House had a huge hole in the roof, like something had gone full-on Whack-A-Mole on it with a giant hammer.

Reyna wheeled her creamy brown pegasus to face Annabeth and her friends. "As for the four of you… Come with me."


	2. The Son of Neptune PROLOGUE

**PLEASE READ THIS! V V**

**First things first.**

**When I wrote my version of The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, I never got a chance to finish and by then the ACTUAL book had already come out. However, I really liked my storyline for it and I found a way to include my idea. **

**So this chapter. This one right down here. Below all this bold print. V V V Yeah, that's the one. **

**This chapter is supposed to go BEFORE the Son of Neptune starts (I'm assuming you've all read it, hopefully, before you're reading the NEXT book in the series…). So, anyway, it basically goes:**

**The Heroes of Olympus (Rick Riordan version)**

**This chapter rite heer. V V V**

**The Son of Neptune (Rick Riordan version)**

**The Mark of Athena (My version)**

**You're probably wondering, **_**Why do I even need to know this**_**? Well, this chapter right her explains a LOT of the Mark of Athena. Even if you don't know it yet.**

**And yeah, it's in Percy Jackson's first person POV. You're not imagining it.**

**Enjoy! (:**

**And PLEASE comment, rate, favorite, etc!**

****I don't own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series (wish I did). All credit for that goes to Rick Riordan.**

**The Son of Neptune**

**Prologue**

I woke up, cold and shivering. _Where am I?_ I thought. The last thing I remembered was kissing Annabeth goodnight and going to bed in cabin three. Well one thing was for sure; I wasn't in my cozy little cabin anymore.

I sat up, dazed, and looked at my surroundings. It was pitch-black, but I could still see. It was kind of like the way I could see in the depths of the ocean. I was sitting in a two foot puddle of what I desperately hoped was cherry Kool-Aid, but I knew in my mind it was blood. The ice-cold blood seemed to go on for miles in every direction, much further than I could see. Maybe it went on forever. I wouldn't be surprised.

A skeleton was lying in the blood in front of me. Its bones were bleached white, like it had been there for a couple hundred years, maybe longer. It smelled like death, like rotting flesh. I backed up and stepped on another skeleton. Then I noticed that they were everywhere, for miles and miles. I wandered around and finally found a spot without any dead guys staring up at me.

It took me a few more seconds to realize that I had absolutely no idea where I was. In my many years of dreadful schooling I had never once heard of a place like this. Pure darkness covering the walls and ceiling – if it had any – endless pools of dark, rusty-smelling blood, rotting skeletons everywhere; this place just wasn't mentioned in your average geography books.

I wandered around the sea of never-ending blood for a long time, searching desperately for a way out of this creepy place. No matter how much I explored, there was a lack of walls or doors anywhere. It seemed like days had passed until, finally, I couldn't walk anymore. My energy seemed to be absent from calling for help and my stomach was growling viciously. My eyelids started to droop.

A cold, high-pitched laugh pierced the air, jolting me back to my senses. "Hello, Percy Jackson! It was nice of you to drop in. Now I may finally have my revenge!"

I immediately knew the owner of the voice. I'd heard it before, much more than I wanted to.

"Kronos," I said in disgust.

Kronos was an extremely malicious Titan who I had fought just barely a year ago. He had recruited many camp members and had chosen my ex-friend, Luke, to oh-so-honorably become the Titan Lord's body. Then Luke had stabbed himself – therefore stabbing Kronos – and we'd all lived happily ever after.

I wished it had ended that way.

Raspy laughter sounded in the air again, piercing through my brain, causing me to flinch. I couldn't see where it was coming from. "Let me show you how much pain you have caused me!"

Immediately, I felt a searing pain in my stomach. I saw the faces of all my loved ones – Annabeth, Grover, my mom, Rachel, Nico, Tyson – they were pale and their expressions were stricken with grief, as if they were watching me die. I didn't even attempt to hold back my strangled scream.

My eyes were wide and I could feel my blood pulsing coldly through my veins. It was the most horrible pain I had ever felt. It felt like I was dying from the inside out. I couldn't think about anything but the pain and at that point, I hoped that Kronos would just end my life right there, to put me out of my misery. I pleaded for him to kill me, but – of course – he didn't. Kronos's laughter rang in the back of my mind, cold and uncaring.

Whether it was from the pain or the lack of air from screaming continuously, I finally passed out.

When I woke up, I was still trapped in the creepy dark place. Only one thing seemed to have changed. A stunningly beautiful girl, possibly my age, was seated beside me, stroking my dark hair softly. Plus, I wasn't being tortured by my worst enemy. I guess the place wasn't so bad after all.

The girl's face was perfect. Her face looked like the kind models on makeup commercials had; pale and smooth. Oh, and she had long, silky, _white_ hair. Okay, how could a seventeen-year-old girl have _white_ hair? Then I decided to not take any bets on her age; she was probably much older than she looked. She was wearing a long, shimmering, white dress and no shoes.

What really bothered me about her was the way she was looking at me. She gazed at me with her pale, silvery eyes like I was a dream come true, like I was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She seemed to be muttering something dreamily to herself.

"Who- who are you?" I asked her, hoping I wouldn't sound rude. Instead, my voice sounded like a dying frog that just attempted and failed to sing opera. I quietly cleared my throat.

The girl just stared at me. She seemed to be thinking, like she was deciding whether or not she should tell me her name. It didn't bother me though; I was used to people not giving me the answers I desired.

Finally she spoke, her voice was gentle yet somehow powerful, "My name is Ava, and I am the last child of Kronos and Rhea."

I gawked at her. What? That was impossible. I stunk at Greek families, but I was sure that Kronos and Rhea didn't have a daughter named Ava. And if they did, why didn't the gods say anything about it? Did they even know about her?

What kind of sick joke was this supposed to be?

She seemed to notice my confusion. "Do not worry, my child, I am not like my father. I am not a Titan. I will not hurt you." She looked like she meant it, but it still bewildered me.

"Where am I?" I asked her skeptically. If this wasn't a joke, I sincerely hoped she knew what was going on and could explain it to me.

"You are in Tartarus, young demigod. I am truly sorry to say that most unfortunate demigods have never escaped, but there is a possibility that you can be saved. I hope that you are the one I have been looking for." Ava looked forlorn, the way Chiron looked when we talked about demigods dying, like he had seen centuries more than he would have liked to see. I figured that – being in Tartarus – she had probably seen the same thing.

"However, if you _are_ the one I have been searching for," Ava continued, "your life will become much more challenging. Your appearance will change slightly. You will have better fighting skills, but your bloodlust will sometimes get the better of you. Most likely, you will not like what you become. That is, if you can remember anything after Juno's plan."

Okay, I was getting really freaked out now, "What are you talking about? What the heck is going on?" I tried to stand, but my muscles wouldn't respond to me. I strained to call to the sea, but unfortunately that didn't work either.

Ava stood up gracefully and walked a few feet away through the sea of blood, her long, silver hair flowing behind her. She started mumbling something I didn't catch.

Then, a glowing blue streak of liquid streamed across the red blood. She bent down to scoop it into her hands and she started back toward me.

When she reached me she took her free hand and shut my eyes – like you're supposed to do to dead people. Of course, I couldn't open them.

I felt my shirt being ripped open, revealing my bare chest. A tickling sensation started on my stomach, as if someone was writing on me with a magic marker. I heard a quiet _drip, drip, drip,_ a muffled gasp, and a _splash_. Behind my eyelids I saw a bright, golden light.

Suddenly, my eyes flew open and I could move. I struggled to my feet clumsily. I was surrounded by the golden light, no more darkness. Ava was standing a few feet in front of me, her eyes wide with shock, a slight smile on her full lips. She quickly walked toward me and placed a hand on my cheek.

"Good luck, my hero," she said before gently kissing my forehead. There was a flash of blue light.

And then everything was gone.


End file.
